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  1. #1

    Unhappy Stubborn, Selfish Neighbor in Middlesex County, New Jersey

    <<<Maybe this says it all?

    My wife and I recently installed a new fence, which is either just about ON the property line or just on our side of it. In any event, our neighbor on one side is stubborn, selfish, pig-headed, etc., and is being a jerk!

    I apologize up front for the long-winded story, but I think you need to read it to believe it!

    We informed him about the fence back in March of this year, at which point he asked us to reconsider, interestingly enough, because he was going to suggest using OUR yard for a community garden so that he would have something to look at while he sat at his dining room table and looked out the window. We said no because it was our yard and we wanted to close it in for privacy, which is no different than what he has and enjoys on the other side of his house. I guess he doesn't think we're entitled to the same privacy?

    Realizing that we were not going to back down, he asked us if we would consider putting up a wood fence because he didn’t like vinyl. We said no because we thought the vinyl fence was attractive and because we wanted the low-to-no maintenance that vinyl provides. Besides…it’s our fence.

    He then asked us to shorten the fence so his driveway wouldn’t become too much of a tunnel (the houses are VERY close to each other in our town) and to move the fence in off the property line so he would have some room to put snow and to plant a small row of flowers on the his side of the fence, so we moved it in and shortened the fence by about 12’.

    While he was at work one day, his driveway contractor came to start the driveway. They said they needed to make the driveway exactly 9’ wide to accommodate their equipment, wider than what my neighbor and I staked out and agreed to, otherwise they would have to do the driveway manually and charge him more. I told them to do what they had to do because it would have been unconscionable for us to say no and to have our neighbor pay more than he was already paying just for the sake of a few inches. At the time we just felt it was the right thing to do and was what good neighbors should do for each other.

    We didn’t have to ask his permission to put up a fence, nor did we have to cater to his requests to shorten and move it in, but in the interest of being a good neighbor we did all that.

    Basically, he's only concerned about what affects him and has no regard for our feelings and/or rights. Only his opinion seems to count.

    By way of background, before we put up our fence and he did his driveway over, his driveway sort of zig-zagged over the property line and there was no clear reference. He took it upon himself to plant flowers along the driveway on our side, but because of the unclear property line we said nothing. With all of this work having been done, the propertly line is crystal clear because his Belgium block driveway border is just about right on the property line or even over a bit.

    Now he's insistent that he will still try to plant flowers on our side of the driveway again, which means those flowers would be on our property.

    What rights to do we have? Can we just rip them out if he tries to plant or do we need to get a court order or an "adverse possession" order?

    Any information would be greatly appreciated!

    Thanks in advance

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Palm Springs/Manhattan Beach, California
    Posts
    37

    Default Misconceptions/Descrepancies

    Wow.

    Sounds as if you've managed to luck out and move next to a blatant idiot!

    I appreciate the "long winded-ness of your story". It appears to me that your neighbor is not only set in his ways, but desires to be set in yours as well.

    Having said that, I believe we've all beared witness to small situations such as yours...., unnecessarily escalating into something catastrophic due to improper handling from one or in some cases, both of the neighbors.

    Bearing all of the above in mind, I'd definitely recommend that you obtain some sort of property plat/layout and or blueprint in attempt to clarify any misconceptions and/or discrepancies on you all's properties. Provided you don't feel confortable relaying this material to your neighbor, perhaps you should seek refuge in allowing any designated realtor/broker to do so.

    * Think of it this way, your property tax payments are keeping the grass green for his flower beds...

  3. #3

    Default Re: Stubborn, Selfish Neighbor in Middlesex County, New Jersey

    I'd definitely recommend that you obtain some sort of property plat/layout and or blueprint in attempt to clarify any misconceptions and/or discrepancies on you all's properties
    FairHousingGuru

    Thanks for the quick response. The funny thing is that I updated my survey to have corner pins installed because of his driveway and my fence being done at the same time, and he AGREES with the property line. It's just that he, as you said, is set in his ways and mine too!

    Thankfully, we just had the first frost so planting is off limits until the Sprint. So, I think that I'll probably wait to see if he tries to plant anything then, and see what my attorney says.

    I've always heard that you can pick your friends but you can't pick your family...you also can't pick your neighbors!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    28,906

    Default Re: Stubborn, Selfish Neighbor in Middlesex County, New Jersey

    You remind me of a situation a while back where my wife and I were approaching a house that was for sale and, after a brief encounter with the neighbor, decided that we weren't interested. Some people, you just don't want to live near....

  5. #5

    Default Re: Stubborn, Selfish Neighbor in Middlesex County, New Jersey

    Quote Quoting aaron
    View Post
    You remind me of a situation a while back

    I remind you of that person or the neighbor I'm describing?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Stubborn, Selfish Neighbor in Middlesex County, New Jersey

    Your story reminds me of the situation. I wasn't talking about you.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Palm Springs/Manhattan Beach, California
    Posts
    37

    Default Look Before You Leap...

    The irony here, is that one can never be "truly" satisfied.

    When renting, renters tend to forget about the fact that after signing one's lease, they will be sharing a floor as someone else's ceiling as well as walls and....

    Nonetheless, by purchasing property, a property owner must become aware of the risk involved with that as well. Unless you're fortunate to become the owner of a "bulk" of land, chances are that you'll be sharing boundaries of property accordingly, i.e.: walls, fences, flower beds, etc..

    In attempt to provide some sort of conclusion to any havoc caused by the above, I'd have to advise any and all to "do your homework" and become aware of what hurdles you are jumping over, before you decide to leap.

    Good luck~

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